Northern Lights 2024 - Part 3
(This is part of a series. Click Part 1 to begin at the start)
Coming into Sudbury things started off rough. We decided that we would try to visit one of the attractions before checking into the Hotel, and I had not pre-planned a route so when we got to a main intersection I followed a sign directing me to the attraction. Which was taking me the wrong route. Whisperin' pulled up the correct route on her phone, and we navigated to the correct location. But, when we got there around 3 PM the last tour had already departed, and the exhibit was due to close in an Hour. Regardless we were able to get some pictures around the Big Nickle.
So, not wanting a day to be wasted, I said maybe we can try Science North, another great Sudbury destination. So back across town we went, and ended up in the same spot we were when I originally got myself lost. Pulled intot he paid parking lot and got in the front door only to find out the place was closing at 4 PM. Everything in Sudbury closes at 4 PM it seems? Even with a huge international conference going on at the time.
This got me a little bummed out because it seems like it was a bit of a wasted afternoon. So I checked into the Hotel. It was the same Hotel that I stayed in as a Teenager when my family was up in Sudbury visiting family. It was also funnily enough the same Hotel that my Step-Dad's friend owned at one time, in conjunction with Tim Horton.
The Hotel staff were nice and the Hotel it's self seemed nice. Aside from the windows. The windows were shit! Doubled up single pane windows which would gather moisture between the panes and then dry up, leaving a layer of dirt on the inside of the panes which no one could clean. This put a damper on train watching. But what also put a damper on it was the room's office chair, which upon sittong it if I fell back unexpectedly, pulling a muscle in my leg. The achey pain lingered for the rest of the evening and made for an undesirable time.
We tried the local Indian food place, which was a little strange for us, when compared to our usual place in Amherst, NY that we love going to. The beef was low grade, and the way they did their spice levels was a bit strange. But otherwise it was 'alright' I guess? I was grumpy and didn't tip, but I also felt we were ignored a little bit. But we can't be too picky I guess.
The next moring was alright. The hotel had a great breakfast, and we got moving early enough to watch the last remaining RDC depart from Sudbury Station!. An RDC is an old Passenger service railcar which stands for Rail Diesel Car. They were built by the Budd Car Company, and Canadian Car and Fountry in the 1950's. The VIA Rail RDCs (used primarily on the Sudbury-White River route) are the only remaining RDCs in the world still providing regular service. So this was a surprise to me, and a real treat being a railfan.
Aside from that, I noted a homeless encampment along the tracks near the Sudbury Rail Station. It was quite obvious and kind of surprising to see that many homeless in Canada's Northland. Winter is coming! I wasn't sure if they were immigrants or Canadians, but in any case it was concerning. I did notice some with the tell-tale fentanyl lean going on, so I imagine some of it was due to drug use. It is quite sad seeing that in our society.
After a brief stop by the Vale Smelter to get a closer view of Sudbury's Superstack, the largest smokestack in the Western Hemisphere, we continued to Dynamic Earth to get tickets for the first available mine tour.
We stopped at Dynamic Earth and the Big Nickle again, and were able to get in on the 11AM Mine Tour. Back when my Mom and I did the mine back in the day, it wasn't run by this Dynamic Earth thing. It was a private operation run by the guy who made the Big Nickle monument, Ted Szilva. Back then you actually went down into the mine shaft in a real mining cage. These days, Dynamic Earth has made a huge elevator, for the journey and bored a huge home out of the ground for it's atrium. Otherwise the tour is similar, witht he addition of some newer more modern objects and some remote controlled machines which you can play with up in the main museum building.
The exhibit in the museum was also cool, and showcased a lot of geologic and mineral facts and specimines. It was very hands on which I enjoyed.
We got to touch a meteorite which was kind of neat. The tour was worth it for sure, and I think our little guy had lots of fun playing around in the exhibits. He even enjoyed showing his little cow some of the things he was discovering.
After we were done in Sudbury we headed to North Bay along Hwy 17. Hwy 17 is a 2 lane dragstrip between Sudbury and North Bay, and as with many Northern Ontario routes, it is a simple road with high speeds. There were times that we were cruising along at 85mph with oppsoing traffic just feet to the left also doing 85mph. Typically, people travel around 100km/h on these roads tho the limit is normally 90km/h but often the flow will increase. The distances between towns and points of interest is just so vast that people just like to move. Sometimes you will get a tourist on there doing like 80km/h and it actually makes it dangerous because everyone wants to keep moving.
Luckily there are many passing lanes, so things worked out fairly well. We stopped in North Bay to pick up some dinner, which was Pizza Pizza, and basic groceries. I also wanted to see what I could see of my favorite railroad, the Ontario Northland but all I saw was a small part of their shop.
We continued onward, eager to get to the cabin and settle down. That will be covered in Part 4.